Grindr settles UK data privacy lawsuit for £26 million
Grindr will pay £26 million to settle a UK group action alleging it unlawfully shared sensitive user data, including HIV status, with third parties before
Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK group action over allegations it unlawfully processed users' personal data. The settlement, reached on September 2 and disclosed to investors two days later, relates to historical data practices from before 2020, when the company was owned by Chinese conglomerate Kunlun.
The agreement contains no admission of liability, and Grindr continues to dispute the allegations. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company will pay £13 million by December 31, 2026, and a further £13 million by March 31, 2027.
Sensitive Health Data Allegedly Shared
Law firm Austen Hays issued the claim at the High Court of England and Wales on April 22, 2024. The firm alleges that Grindr shared sensitive personal data with third parties without adequate consent. Grindr said it was served with the proceedings in April 2025.
Austen Hays said the claim covered HIV status, last tested date, and whether users took PrEP. Data relating to ethnicity, sex life, and sexual orientation were also potentially shared. The action relates to users of the free version of the app between 2016 and 2020.
Grindr had previously disclosed in 2018 that it shared HIV data with two analytics providers, Apptimize and Localytics. The company said it stopped this practice after researchers in Norway revealed the arrangement. Health, sex life, and sexual orientation receive special protection under UK data protection law, where unlawful sharing carries the highest regulatory and civil exposure.
In its filing, Grindr acknowledged the distress and loss of trust expressed by some UK users over the pre-2020 period while continuing to dispute the claims themselves.
Settlement Details and Past Regulatory Actions
The action covered two claims. Austen Hays has said it represents about 12,000 people. If the £26 million settlement were divided equally among them, each claimant would receive roughly £2167, though the distribution method has not been confirmed.
Grindr stated it was sold to new owners in 2020 and has since overhauled its privacy program. The company described Grindr as a safe space committed to transparency and user control.
Other regulators have previously found Grindr engaged in unlawful data practices. Norway's data protection authority fined Grindr €6.5 million in 2021 over sharing user data for behavioral advertising without a legal basis. Grindr lost a challenge to this penalty in the Oslo District Court in 2024.
The UK Information Commissioner's Office also reprimanded the company in July 2022 for failing to give UK users effective and transparent privacy information.
